Ski binding of the toe binding type



Dec. 2, 1969 B. WITH 3,481,618

lSKI BINDING OF THE TOE BINDING TYPE Filed nec. 18, 1967 z'sheets-sheet 1 ,M @MAW m Dec. 2, 1969 B. WITH 3,481,618

SKI BINDING OF THE TOE BINDING TYPE Filed Deo. 18, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O 3,481,618 SKI BINDING OF THE TOE BINDING TYPE Bror With, Olof Schous vei 4, Oslo, Norway Filed Dec. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 691,548 Claims priority, application Norway, Dec. 23, 1966, 166,123; June 30, 1967, 168,891 Int. 'CL A63c 9/00 U.S. Cl. 280-11.35 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A ski binding of the toe binding type including a toe iron having a base plate with a transverse bead forming a downward forward slope to facilitate boot tilting and having opstanding flanges extending in front of the boot sole rim and defining bearing studs forwardly of the sole rim, a resilient yoke or bail mounted on the toe iron and acting on the upper surface ofthe sole rim for clamping the sole to the base plate, the yoke being adapted to follow longitudinal movement of the upper face of the sole rim in use, and a keeper member supported by the bearing studs for maintaining the yoke against the sole rim. The base plate has arresting pins for preventing longitudinal displacement of the sole and two mounting screw holes near its rear edge and one such hole behind the mounting points of the keeper member. A fitting adapted for attachment to the boot sole engages the arresting pins and centers itself on the pins.

The present invention aims at providing a ski binding of the toe binding type, which satisfies the demands which are today made on a competition binding for ski races, and which may be expected in a near future to be made on a binding for cross-country tours, especially with respect to free mobility of the foot combined with the possibility of steady steering, easy attachment and detachment and simple, light and sturdy design permitting cheap manufacture and easy mounting.

From as far back as before the rst world war and till a few years ago the clamping binding typehas been regarded as the best solution for ski races. However, technique and style have constantly developed towards greater step lengths. This development is to a substantial extent due to the international rules and direction for the trails. There is nomore running in brush-wood and climbs. The rules prescribe that the trail shall almost be like a railway with smooth tracks permitting overtaking anywhere. It is obvious that this development has resulted in new de- -rnands on a competition binding. Yet, until recently it has been possible to satisfy the constantly increasing demands for freeness of motion by gradually advancing the clamping point for the attachment of the sole until it has come as far forward as possible.

However, the demand for freeness and unhampered motion of the foot out of regard to the increased step lengths is still going farther. Therefore, solutions have been attempted by which the clamping principle itself has been departed from and the boot is merely by means of a locking member secured against sliding back out of the binding. The vertical clearance which must necessarily be present affords a certain increased mobility or play in favor of a greater freeness of motion. This has made this type of binding gain a certain popularity among active racers. However, from a technical viewpoint it does not constitute a good solution. Thus, all bindings of this type ICC which have been produced till now have in common that they are both sensible and cumbersome in use and very complicated to mount on ski and boot.

The present invention builds upon the simple and reliable principle of clamping the sole, i.e. it relates to a ski binding of the toe binding type having means acting on the sole rim from above for keeping the sole clamped down against the base plate of the toe iron in a restricted area near the front edge and having means for arresting the sole against longitudinal displacement. The novel matter according to the invention primarily consists in that the upper face of the base plate of the toe iron has a downward slope in the forward direction in the area underlying the foremost part of the sole so as to facilitate forward swinging of the boot. Due to this feature, a very great freeness of 4motion is obtained in that the boot can tilt forward during walking in spite of the clamping action, especially if it is arranged that the downward slope starts substantially at the transverse vertical plane at which the pressure on the sole rim is greatest, so that the tilting movement does not require any noticeable lifting of the sole at this point. When using arresting means lbetween sole and base plate, these are conveniently also placed at the point where the downward slope begins, since thereby the Sole will have a defined tilting axis at the point where it is kept quiescent by the arresting means and at the same time is clamped. Since the upper side of the sole rim will then perform a longitudinal motion with the sole thickness as radius, increased freeness of motion and reduced rubbing on the sole rim may be achieved by giving the clamping means a slight movability in the longitudinal direction by allowing for suitable resiliency and/or providing a play at the mounting points.

The invention is especially contemplated to be used in bindings of the type in which the clamping means form part of the legs of a common resilient yoke or bail which in operative position extends with its bight portion in front of the toe of the boot, where it is held down by a keeping member. Such a yoke can in a simple manner be shaped so as to cooperate favorably with the sloping face and arresting means of the base plate, and it is also easily possible to design its pivotal mounting for affording the desired movability in the longitudinal direction or to give it a shape permitting it to yield resiliently to the short longitudinal movements of the upper face of the sole rim. In this connection a preferred feature of the invention consists in that the keeping member is mounted on a forward extension of the toe iron at a short distance from the toe of the boot. Since it is thereby possible to dispense with separate fixing means for attaching the keeping means to the ski, this means partly a simplication and partly also that it is possible to avoid the weakening of the ski which such xing means may involve, and which is particularly serious in the case of light skis of modern type. A sturdy and light structure is then obtained if the toe iron is fixed with three screws only, two at the rear and one at the front at a short distance from the mounting point of the keeping member. A structure which is particularly favorablein mechanical respects and permits decreasing the weight of the toe iron is then obtained if the extension of the toe iron is shaped with bent-up side portions which themselves form bearing stands for the pivotal mounting of the keeping member, and especially if these side portions are formed in the continuation of edge anges bent up from the base plate along the front edge of the sole and merging into the toe iron. Apart from affording a reinforcement such edge flanges may also contribute in preventing snow from penetrating onto the sloping face of the base plate, and, besides, permit the toe iron to be given a ploughlike shape which makes it capable of carrying violent shocks,

Further features of the invention will appear from the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate convenient embodiments, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a rst embodiment of the binding, partly in section along the line I-I in FIG. 2, and with the ski and the toe of the boot indicated in dashand-dot lines;

FIG. 2 is a corresponding view in vertical longitudinal section along the line II-lI in FIG. 1. The toe of the boot has here been indicated as far forward as it will come during use, but has been shown at a distance above the binding for the sake of clearness;

FIG. 3 is a top View of a corresponding boot litting;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are lateral and top views respectively of a second embodiment of the binding;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a modied detail.

The binding shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a toe iron 1 formed with lugs 2, 3 and a base plate 14 With three holes 4, and 6 for screws for attachments to the ski 7. The lugs 2, 3 have forward extensions in the form of reinforcing flanges 8 and 9 respectively, which in use extend inwards just in front of the sole rim 10. The anges 8 and 9 terminate in lugs 11, 12 extending on either side of a forward extension 13 of the base plate 14 and forming bearing stands for a pivoted hook 15 which may adjustably engage the bight portion of a clamping yoke or pinch bail 16 mounted at the extremities of its leg on pivots 17 riveted to the inside of spherical outward bulges in the toe iron lugs 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the end portions of the yoke legs are at the mounting points bent about 180 around the pivots 17, which have vertically elongated heads so that the yoke or bail can be mounted by pressing the same together somewhat and pushing the end hooks in substantially Vertical position laterally onto the pivot heads, which secure the yoke against falling oif when the same has sprung outwards anew and has been swung forward. When swung forward in the position of use, the yoke will thereby have a certain movability relative to the toe iron in the longitudinal direction of the ski.

Due to the fact that the keeping hook is mounted in a short extension of the toe iron it does not need separate screws for attachment to the ski, and forces acting on the hook 15 will be taken up directly by the toe iron 1 without causing strain on screw attachments in the ski. The bending torque to which the extension 13 can then be subjected and which tends to bend it upwards from the ski, will be relatively small because of the short distance from the mounting point of the hook to the foremost screw hole 6 of the toe iron and can be taken up by the toe iron without overdue strain even in the case of a relatively slight design, due to the bearing stands 11, 12 and the edge flanges 8, 9, which contribute in stiffening. At the same time the flanges 8, 9 have also a stiffening effect against lateral bending of the toe iron lugs 2, 3. With this design the yoke 16 becomes relatively short so that even in the case of a rather slight dimensioning it can aford the necessary resilient pressure. However, it is not necessary for this reason to make it unduly slight, since it has been formed with deep inward bends extending in front of the boot along the top of the sole rim and hence increasing the resilient length.

The yoke is curved in the vertical plane in such a manner as to form downward bends 18 exerting a local pressure from above on the sole rim at a short distance behind the front extremity of the boot. In the vicinity of the transverse Vertical plane at which this maximum pressure appears, there are provided upwardly projecting arresting pins 19 riveted to the base plate 14 of the toe iron and adapted to penetrate into the sole of the boot from below. The sole is provided with a fitting 20 having holes 21 for fixing screws and preferably also upwardly projecting points 22, and which along its rear edge is formed with inwardly curved bent-up portions 23 which, when the boot has been inserted into the toe iron and is placed down on the base plate, will engage the front side of the pins 19 and thereby center the fitting on these and prevent displacement of the boot.

The base plate 14 of the toe iron shown has throughout the major part of its area a plane bottom face atly engaging the ski. Its supporting face for the boot is, however, formed by upwardly oset portions, and more particularly of rim portions 24 extending inwards from the toe iron lugs 2, 3 along the rear edge of the base plate to near the middle, and a transverse bead 26 where the pins 19 are placed. The forward part of the bead 26 forms a sloping face 27 which at the front terminates at a shoulder which in the position of use is located just in front of the front edge of the iitting 20. Thus, in use the boot will rest with the iitting 20 on the bead 26, where it is kept clamped by the yoke 16, and will during forward swinging of the foot be able to tilt down with the toe until the iitting 20 will atly engage the face 27, and during this motion it will be possible for the points 4of engagement 18 on the yoke 16 to take part in the short longitudinal movement of the sole rim entailed by the tilting movement, because of the possibility of resilient yielding of the yoke and of play in its mounting.

Due to the fact that the sloping face 27 is provided for by forming an upwardly curved bead and that the base plate is provided with upwardly oliset portions 24, 25 at the rear, the possibility of tilting has been provided for without unnecessary thickness of the toe iron, and nevertheless a firm contact with the ski is obtained throughout a great area and the entire supporting face of the base plate is raised to the level of the top of the slope so that the sole will not adopt any undesirable upward slope. When the boot is swung back and, after the heel has come down on the ski, may still be subjected to a rearward torque, the sole rim will be held down at the front by the inwardly curved portions of the yoke just in front of the lowermost points 18 thereof, so that the sole cannot jump off from the pins 19.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is largely similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and corresponding parts which have been provided with the same reference numerals with the addition of a mark, will therefore not be described anew.

A feature which has been illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 but does not appear from FIGS. 1 and 2, although it is also consistent with the embodiment first described, consists in that the transition line between each lug of the toe iron and the base plate 14 has a convex downward curvature as shown at 30. This design contributes in strengthening the toe iron against breaking along the transition line, which because of the relatively sharp bending in the transverse vertical plane constitutes a weak point. At the same time the downwardly curved shape contributes in saving the adjoining ski from scratching.

In order further to spare the adjoining ski and to avoid unnecessary scratching on the ground when edging the ski, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 the rear edge of the toe iron is formed with an inward curvature at the corner between lug and base plate.

Apart from this, the main difference from the embodiment first described consists in a simpler form of mounting the spring yoke or pinch bail 16 in the toe iron 1. As will be seen, this has been achieved due to the fact that the free extremities 31, 32 of the legs of the yoke have been bent inwards at right angles and passed from the outside through holes 37 at the bottom edge of the lugs 2', 3' of the toe iron below the level of the supporting face of the base plate, where they are accommodated in depressed portions 33, 34 of the base plate outside the sides of the ski. The mounting is here effected simply by pulling the legs of the yoke resiliently apart and then putting the end portions 31, 32 in, one at a time. As will be seen, the front part of the yoke 16 has the same shape as in FIGS. l and 2, whereas at the rear the legs are bent up over the lugs of the toe iron so as to extend down on the outside of these. Therefore, the yoke legs have a curvature in the vertical plane as best shown at 35 in FIG. 4, whereby the portions behind the clamping points 18 will have a certain resilient movability in the longitudinal direction, which affords the desired possibility of easy swinging of the boot.

The part of the yoke leg located immediately behind the clamping point 18 extends in the position of use inside the toe iron at a point where the latter is still so high that it will effectively lock the leg against outward displacement during walking. Besides, it is also possible to provide for an additional locking of the yoke by forming the pivots 32, 33 with laterally bent extremities which in the position of use are engaged in corresponding slots in the base plate of the toe iron.

In connection with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is of course also possible to use a boot fitting as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this embodiment the yoke does not lie as well protected within the toe iron lugs as in the first case, but in return the structure is simpler as mentioned, since separate rivets are dispensed with, and due to the fact that the mounting point is at the bottom edge of the toe iron lugs, these will engage the rim of the sole throughout their length and will also be better capable of withstanding stresses in vertical direction.

FIG. 6 illustrates a possible modification consisting in that the end portions of the legs of the yoke 16 are put through the toe iron from the inside instead of from the outside. In order to permit the mounting point to be placed below the level of the supporting face of the base plate even in this case, whereby the yoke legs will have to extend downwards on the outside of the sole rim, the lugs of the toe iron are bulged outwards at the mounting point as shown at 36.

Many further deviations from the embodiments shown are of course possible within the scope of the invention. Thus, for the keeping member for the clamping yoke it is also possible to use other elements than the keeping hook or 15 shown, for example some kind of tightener. This may involve that in use the keeping point is fixed without possibility of longitudinal displacement, which however would not prevent the desired swinging movement of the boot sole if the illustrated inward bends in the resilient yoke are conserved, since these can yield resiliently in the longitudinal direction during the movement of the boot. Besides, it is also possible to use other forms of clamping members than downward bends in a wire yoke. Further, it is of course possible to form the sloping face 27 in a base plate made without bent-up portions and having the necessary thickness, and likewise it may be contemplated to make the sloping face with interruptions instead of continuous.

'What I claim is:

1. A ski binding of the toe binding type adapted for cooperation with a ski boot sole, comprising, in combination, an integral toe iron including a base plate having an upper surface and a front edge portion, means arresting the sole against longitudinal displacement when the sole is disposed on the toe iron, and resilient means acting on the sole rim from above for keeping the sole clamped down on the base plate of the toe iron in a restricted area near the front edge portion, said upper face of the base plate of the toe iron sloping downward in the forward direction in the area directly underlying the foremost part of the sole so as to facilitate forward tilting of the boot, said toe iron having upwardly bent flanges extending in front of the sole rim so as to prevent snow or other extraneous matter from collecting under the sole rim.

2. A ski binding as claimed in claim 1 wherein said downward slope begins substantially at the transverse vertical plane where the pressure on the sole rim is greatest.

3. A ski binding as claimed in claim 1 wherein said arresting means acts between the sole and base plate, said downward slope beginning substantially at the point where the arresting means are located.

4. A ski binding as defined in claim 3 wherein said arresting means comprises pins on the base plate, and including a fitting adapted to be secured on the sole and having a rear edge to engage the pins and center itself on said pins.

5. A ski binding as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilient clamping means are supported by said toe iron for movement in the longitudinal direction of the ski so as to be capable of following the sole during the tilting movement of the same.

`6. A ski binding as claimed in claim 1 wherein said base plate includes a transverse bead in its upper face, the frontal portion of which forms said downward slope.

7. A ski binding as claimed in claim 6 wherein said base plate has locally bent-up portions extending along its rear edge substantially at the level of the top of the bead.

8. A ski binding as claimed in claim 1 wherein said downward slope extends forwardly from the level of the portion of the supporting face of the base plate which substantially supports said boot sole.

9. A ski binding as claimed in claim 1 wherein said clamping means comprises the legs of a resilient clamping yoke which is mounted on the toe iron, and including a keeping member mounted on the toe iron, said toe iron having an extension thereon to support said keeping member at a short distance from the toe of the boot, said extension of said toe iron comprising forward extensions of said flanges.

10. A ski binding as claimed in claim 9 wherein said base plate has three screw holes for attaching the toe iron to the ski, two of said screw holes being near the rear edge of said base plate and the other of said screw holes being at the front of said plate in the proximity of the mounting point of the keeping member.

11. A ski binding as claimed in claim 1 wherein said toe plate has lugs thereon upstanding from said base plate, and wherein the transition line between said base plate and each of said lugs has a slight convex downward curvature.

12. A ski binding of the toe binding type adapted for cooperation with the sole of a boot, said binding comprising, in combination, a toe iron including a base plate having an upper surface and a front edge portion, clamping means comprising a resilient clamping yoke mounted on said toe iron and having leg portions adapted to act downwardly upon the boot sole rim for keeping the sole clamped down onto said base plate near said front edge portion, means for substantially preventing longitudinal displacement of the sole, said toe iron having upstanding flanges along Isaid front edge portion of said base plate and an extension comprising bent-up side portions formed integral with said flanges, said side portions of said extension forming bearing stands, and a keeping member mounted on said extension a short distance from the toe of the boot when cooperating with the binding and adapted to maintain said clamping yoke in depressed position.

13. A ski binding as claimed in claim 12 wherein said toe iron has upstanding lugs thereon and depressions formed in said base plate outside the sides of a ski to which said binding is applied, and wherein said clamping means comprises portions of the legs of a clamping yoke supported at the ybottom edge of said toe iron lugs below the supporting face and over said depressions.

14. A ski binding as defined in claim 12 wherein said base plate has three screw holes for attaching said toe iron to a ski, two of said screw holes being near the rear 7 8 edge ot said base plate and the other of said screw holes FOREIGN PATENTS being at the fro nta1 pprtion o1? said hase plate yshortly be- 47,584 2/1930 Norway hlnd the mountmg pomt of sa1d keepmg member. 80,688 9/1952 Norway 118,138 2/ 1947 Sweden. References Cted 5 219,681 6/1942 switzerland. UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,622,888 12/1952 with 28o-11.35 LEO FRAGLIA Pflmafy Exammef 2,682,415 6/ 1954 With 280-11.35 MILTON L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner 

